Chapter 13: A False Calm

As if sensing something, the girl looked out the window.
Following her gaze, Stephen also turned her head and saw Shun standing dumbfounded outside the window.

“Ah, Shun, you’re back.
This child just woke up not long ago.
Although she can’t remember what happened before for the time being, we did manage to ask for her identity.”

Stephen’s voice brought Shun back to his senses.
He walked in through the door as if nothing had happened, his voice so calm it was as if he wasn’t the one who had been staring blankly just now.

“What did you find out?”

“Uh, this child’s name is Xia Xingli. She’s an ability user, and also Xia Lixing’s younger sister… no, wait, you brat, if there’s something you want to know, why don’t you just ask this child directly.”

Stephen answered subconsciously for a moment before she suddenly realized.

“…”

Shun looked at Xia Xingli without saying a word, and Xia Xingli also tilted her head slightly, looking at Shun.
She was no stranger to this S-rank ability user.
The first time she had fought in a super A-rank beast tide, Shun, who was stationed in Central City “Xia,” had made a move.
And that one move had destroyed more than half of the super A-rank beast tide, and the only super A-rank Aberrant Beast had been instantly killed.

She knew an S-rank ability user like Shun because of Stephen.
Due to Stephen’s overly familiar personality, she had naturally become friends with Shun.
And Xia Lixing, who often visited Stephen, also naturally became familiar with Shun.
Shun’s ability was “Spatial Shatter,” and “Ethereal Flame” also contained some spatial properties, so his conversations with Shun were mostly about asking him questions about space.
Their relationship could be said to be that of both a teacher and a friend.

Seeing Shun again now, Xia Xingli couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional: this guy has barely changed at all.

“You are Xia Lixing’s younger sister?”

His voice was still as cold as ever, giving off a feeling of keeping people at a distance.

“Yes.”

“How did you two meet?”

‘He asked this question after all…’

“We met before encountering the super A-rank beast tide.
Because he saw the memento of my parents that I was carrying, and it seemed to remind him of some past events.”

Shun seemed to pause for a moment. “A memento of your parents?”

“Little Xingli’s parents have passed away, so don’t bring up this topic anymore,” Stephen reminded him from the side.

“Sorry.”
His cold tone didn’t sound like an apology at all.
“But your ability fluctuation just now was around A-rank.”

He didn’t press the matter of the memento.
After all, Shun, who had brought her back, knew very well that the girl, who was only covered by a tattered long coat at the time, didn’t look like she still had any “mementos.”

“Is that so… I couldn’t control my ability well before, and it seemed to be very weak.”

‘The past is whatever I say it is now. They can’t verify it anyway.’

“Do you really not remember anything about facing the super A-rank Aberrant Beast?”

Xia Xingli shook her head, her face turning a little pale. “I don’t know… I was almost unconscious at that time. I only remember being surrounded by ‘Ethereal Flame,’ and when I woke up, I was here.”

“Alright, you. Xia Lixing is little Xingli’s older brother. You keep asking these questions without considering little Xingli’s feelings,” Stephen interrupted Shun, who was about to ask something else.

“I only asked one question.”

Although he said that, Shun also stopped his questioning, seemingly feeling that pressing Xia Xingli too much about these things was like forcing her to relive her past pain.

“Then I’m going to report the situation. I’ll leave things here to you.”

This last sentence was directed at Stephen.
After saying that, Shun “teleported” away directly.

“Although Shun is not good with words and is like a big block of ice, he is indeed a good person.”

‘You, of all people, are not qualified to say that he’s not good with words, Stephen. But speaking of which, why did Shun seem a little flustered? Is there something urgent he needs to do, and he doesn’t want to stay here for long?’

“How does your body feel? Is there anything else that’s uncomfortable?”
Removing the heart rate monitor attached to Xia Xingli’s wrist, Stephen asked in detail.
“Does your head hurt? Do you want to sleep some more? I think it’s better for you to sleep some more. Although you just woke up, mental turmoil is not so easy to recover from.”

“…Then I’ll sleep a little longer.”
Unlike Stephen’s lazy image, she was decisive when it came to making decisions and doing things.
It was the same when taking care of people, not giving them a chance to interrupt.

But Xia Xingli thought it would be good to rest a little more.
She was still a bit confused and needed enough time to sort out her memories and establish her self-identity.
She was no longer “Xia Lixing,” but his younger sister, “Xia Xingli.”
Although she had some resistance to her current appearance due to the memories of “Xia Lixing” in her mind, she knew she had to adjust as soon as possible.
After all, according to her understanding, as a powerful and mysterious ability user, she would inevitably be summoned for questioning by the higher-ups of the “Guardians” or the coalition government.
At that time, it wouldn’t be as simple as fooling Stephen and Shun.

“Then, have a good sleep. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

Turning off some of the observation instruments, leaving only the necessary life-threatening alarm in case of an emergency, Stephen got up, drew the curtains, and turned off the lights in the medical room.
The room immediately darkened.
Stephen stood at the door, watching Xia Xingli lie back on the bed and cover herself with the quilt, before slowly closing the door.

Turning to face the other side of the hallway, Stephen’s face had returned to her usual lazy expression.
She walked unhurriedly towards the end and raised her hand in greeting.

“Yo, good afternoon, sirs.”

At the end of the hallway, several figures had appeared at some point.
Three of them were dressed in smart white military uniforms, the cross emblem of the coalition government on their chests particularly conspicuous.
The other two were a man and a woman, or rather, a man and a girl.
The man was leaning against the wall with an unlit cigarette in his mouth, while the girl stood quietly by his side without saying a word.

“Stephen, ‘Light of the Heart,’ you should be taking that girl to the ‘Court of Judgment’ for questioning right now, not leisurely greeting us like this.”

Among the three men in military uniforms, the one who looked like the leader said sternly, his words very formal.

“Ah… perhaps. But that child has just been through a catastrophe. It would be too inhumane not to let her rest a little.”
Stephen waved her hand dismissively.

“I’m warning you, Stephen! Do not openly provoke the coalition government!”

“Oh my, of course I have no intention of provoking you, but isn’t it common sense that the child needs to rest at this time?”

“You…”

“Alright, alright, alright, let’s not argue. Let’s talk things over calmly and discuss matters slowly.”
The man with the cigarette interrupted the man in the military uniform, casually taking the cigarette from his mouth and tucking it behind his ear.
“Besides, you’re being so loud. What if you wake up the little girl?”

“Xiu, are you trying to oppose the coalition government! Don’t think your ‘Guardians’ are so powerful! If you dare to oppose the coalition government…”

“Captain Oss!”

The man named Oss didn’t get to finish his sentence, because there was a sharp dagger pressed against his throat.
With a little force, it could slice open his throat.

The other two men in military uniforms cried out in alarm and drew their pistols, but before they could even aim their guns at Xiu, who was holding the dagger, they were shocked to find that the guns in their hands had disassembled themselves into a pile of parts.

The girl who had been standing quietly retracted her gaze, her small hands fiddling with the ribbons on her dress, as if this tense atmosphere had nothing to do with her.

“‘Absolute Domination’…” one of the military men groaned, but they didn’t dare to move rashly anymore.
A drop of cold sweat trickled down Oss’s forehead.
The dagger pressed tightly against his throat made him feel the breath of death.

“Young man, don’t be so hot-headed. Be more careful with your words in the future. The saying ‘disaster comes from the mouth’ is very true.”
Xiu reached out his free left hand and patted Oss’s cheek, his tone as old and stuffy as an old man’s.

With a flash of cold light, the dagger had already disappeared from Xiu’s right hand.
Oss clutched his throat and stumbled back a few steps, panting heavily with a pale face, as if he had just walked the line between life and death.

“So that’s how it is. We, the ‘Guardians,’ will be responsible for questioning that child after she wakes up. Of course, the results will be handed over to you, with-out, any, conceal-ment.”
Stephen acted as if she hadn’t seen the change in front of her.
Even though she deliberately emphasized certain words, her tone remained as lazy as ever.
“Well then, I’ll be taking my leave now, sirs.”

With a slight bow as a gesture of courtesy, Stephen’s figure disappeared up the stairs.
Oss, supported by the other two, finally caught his breath and glared at Xiu with gritted teeth. “Good… good… I’ll remember this… let’s go!”

After throwing out a useless threat in a fierce but cowardly manner, Oss shook off the two men supporting him and had them pick up and put away the disassembled pistols.
Although his legs were still trembling slightly, he insisted on leaving on his own.
However, before he turned to leave, while the two men were busy picking up the parts, he gave Xiu a strange wink with his left eye, and Xiu responded by winking back with his right eye.

“Sigh, it’s finally over…”
Seeing the three men in military uniforms walk away, Xiu stretched lazily, took the cigarette from behind his ear and put it in his mouth, then brought his right hand up and snapped his fingers.
A small flame appeared out of thin air and lit the cigarette.

But before he could take a satisfying puff, the girl beside him glanced at the cigarette in his mouth.
The next second, Xiu felt his mouth go empty, and the cigarette had disappeared to who knows where.

“…”
After being stunned for a moment, Xiu scratched his head in helplessness.
“I say, little Feli, you don’t have to directly disintegrate it into particles, do you? It’s just one stick…”

“Smoking, forbidden.”

The girl replied very stiffly.

“Alright… I won’t smoke then.”
Xiu muttered in frustration.
“By the way, now that this is done, those guys from the coalition government probably won’t be eyeing that child anymore.”

“Sir, so scary.”

“Hahaha, is that what little Fess thinks? It seems you’re not wrong.”
Xiu laughed and tried to pat the girl’s head, but she dodged it with a displeased turn of her head.

“Head-patting is also forbidden!”

“Hahahaha, I know, I know. I definitely won’t do it again after this time.”

“‘Absolute Domination’!”

“Waaah, don’t use your ability on my hand!”

The sound of laughter and playful banter gradually faded away.
The cameras in the hallway, which had been drooping their heads, also recovered and continued to faithfully record everything within their lenses.
As for that period of time just now…

「Machines will always malfunction, won’t they?」

In a later report from a certain technician, regarding the loss of surveillance footage this time, only this sentence, which made the higher-ups of the coalition government slam their desks, was written.